Hi there,
I fully agree with Carol's statement that, "with assistive technology, ANY place within the library field ... could be the 'perfect place' for ANY guy or gal." Unfortunately, "could" merely indicates potential. It is my contention that such potential is currently not fully realized--for two reasons:
(1) Not all electronic library resources are designed with universal access in mind. To the extent that they are not accessible (such as chat-based virtual reference systems and certain online indexes/databases), there are barriers that will make it difficult at times for blind librarians to do certain aspects of the job.
(2) Though "access to information" is at the core of the library profession, the institutions that train future librarians are often not concerned with access for all. My recent study (http://library.uwsp.edu/aschmetz/Accessible/websurveys.htm) on the accessibility of library school web sites reveals a grim picture. Here in North America, about two-thirds of the library schools web pages (homepages and one link layer down) contain Bobby detectable priority-1 accessibility errors. If this is any indication of the level of awareness about accessibility, students with print disabilities should be prepared for a bit of a battle.
A quick check of the homepage of the Department of Information and Library Studies at the University of Cape Town (using the Lynx Viewer at http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html) shows that this site is not free of accessibility problems, either: While the information provided is text-based, the lay-out is not optimal for those accessing it with screen readers. What follows is the beginning of the Department's homepage as viewed with the Lynx Viewer:
[INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE]
department of information
and library studies
[USEMAP] [INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE] [INLINE]
[INLINE]
[INLINE] [INLINE]
university of cape town
[INLINE] academic programme
[INLINE]
research & publications
[INLINE] news
[INLINE] resources
[INLINE] applications
[INLINE] our staff
[INLINE] contact us
With the above remarks I do not mean to discourage anyone who is blind, or otherwise print disabled, to enter the library profession. (On the contrary, the profession needs more diversity.) But it needs to be pointed out that despite the prevailing "free information access" mantra of the profession and despite the potential for full accessibility as more and more information resources migrate online, barriers continue to exist. As far as I can tell, the institutional obstacles that blind students are likely to encounter at library schools are not different from those that they would encounter in other academic programs. And, as long as libraries, which help shape the emerging online information environment, do not demand accessible online products from vendors, the systematic disabling of blind or visually impaired library staff (and users) will continue.
Axel (from the pulpit)
************************
Axel Schmetzke, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Library
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
900 Reserve
Stevens Point, WI 54481
[log in to unmask]
Tel: 715-346-4658
-----Original Message-----
From: Carol Boyer [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 2:56 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Fw: Visually-handicapped librarians
Yes, Kurzweill has a program for reading music. In fact, Stevie Wonder used it when Ray Kurzweill was developing such. The first music keyboard, with acoustic sound, was developed in 1984 by Ray Kurzweil. The inspiration came from Stevie Wonder, in part, from a conversation Ray had with Stevie, who had been a user of the Kurzweil Reading Machine.
But, I'm a little perplexed why this student believes that music librarianship would be the best place to accommodate his disability. With assistive technology, ANY place within the library field (or any other field for which he has expertise in) could be the "perfect place" for ANY guy or gal. However, if he is interested in music, then so be it.
Carol Boyer
Project Associate
RESNA Technical Assistance Project
-----Original Message-----
From: Ravonne Green [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 3:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Fw: Visually-handicapped librarians
Linda:
I would think that music librarianship would be the perfect place for this guy. I'm not sure if Kurzweil has a program for reading music. If they don't, I would think that they would jump at the opportunity to develop something like this. I always get excited about seeing ways that assistive technology can help people like this guy to have productive lives.
Ravonne
>From: Joan Naturale
>Reply-To: "Library Access -- http://www.rit.edu/~easi"
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Fw: Visually-handicapped librarians
>Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 11:50:23 -0400
>
>I remember seeing a blind librarian when I visited the Smith College Library
>in Northhampton, Mass. a couple of years ago. I don't know if he is still
>there. When I say blind, he had a little residual vision and wore telescopic
>glasses.He worked at the Ref desk.
>
>Joan
>
>"Linda L. Walling" wrote:
>
> > Anything you would like to share with him? Linda
> >
> > Linda Lucas Walling
> > College of Library and Information Science
> > University of South Carolina
> > Columbia, SC 29208
> > [log in to unmask]
> > Phone: 803-777-2298
> > Web page: http://www.libsci.sc.edu/linda/walling.htm
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Peter G Underwood"
> > To:
> > Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 9:35 AM
> > Subject: Visually-handicapped librarians
> >
> > > The Department of Information and Library Studies at the University of
> > > Cape Town has received an enquiry from a prospective student who is
> > > blind. He is interested in studying librarianship, and wondered if it
> > > would be possible for him to work in a library. At the moment he is
> > > studying the social sciences. He is especially interested in music
> > > librarianship, and thought that, of all branches of the profession, this
> > > would be the
> > > most accommodating to his disability. Can anybody help us advise him
> > > about the opportunities and problems that might attend upon this career
> > > path, given his circumstances?
> > > Please let us know if you have any information or personal experiences
> > > to help us answer his question and provide appropriate guidance.
> > > --
> > >
> > >
> > > *******************************************************************
> > > Prof. Peter G. Underwood, Director, Centre for Information Literacy
> > > University of Cape Town, Private Bag, RONDEBOSCH 7701, South Africa
> > > [log in to unmask]
> > > +27 (0)21 650 3091 (voice-mail) +27 (0)84 650 3091 (cell)
> > > +27 (0)21 650 4542 (fax)
> > > *******************************************************************
> > >
><< jxnwml.vcf >>
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